News: Masterson allowed one run on five hits and a walk while striking out four in 5.2 innings in Monday night's game against the Twins.

Impact: Masterson was able to extend himself a bit, getting up and down six times and throwing close to 100 pitches. His fastball velocity, which has been an area of focus, touched 92 mph -- an encouraging sign. He's made a case for himself to be the No. 3 starter behind Clay Buchholz and Rick Porcello.

Impact: Masterson had a rocky first inning, giving up four runs to the Single-A hitters, but settled in after that. He said he felt strong -- better than he did in his last outing. He's endured inconsistent results and reduced velocity this spring, but Masterson said he feels he threw the ball harder Wednesday than he has all spring and thinks he's nearly ready for the regular season.

Rotowire: Mar 21 / 5:34a ET

News: Masterson allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out one in four innings against Baltimore on Friday.

Impact: Masterson bounced back from an unsettling outing his last time out, inducing nine groundball outs, but his fastball velocity still isn't up to where it was in 2013. Various reports indicate different velocity figures, but he sat in the high-80s for most of the game and dialed up one pitch to 92 mph. He threw 76 pitches Friday and has two or three more starts. He felt he was better Friday but still needs work to iron out the heater.

Rotowire: Mar 15 / 5:55p ET

News: Masterson had trouble finding his arm slot Sunday and gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.1 innings in a game against the Phillies, WEEI.com reports.

Impact: With his arm slot off, Masterson couldn't establish normal velocity and was susceptible to left-handed hitters, who hit two home runs off him. But only in baseball can someone come out of a performance like that with optimism. Masterson said he feels much better this season than he did last year at this time.

Rotowire: Mar 11 / 1:21a ET

News: Masterson logged three scoreless innings, striking out four while not surrendering a hit in Tuesday's game against the Rays.

Impact: The Rays had a split-squad day Tuesday and sent the B-teamers to Fort Myers, so Masterson's sterling effort needs to be viewed in that context. Still, the right-hander has tossed five scoreless innings to date. With some expected tweaks coming to the rotation, Masterson is line to pitch the third game of the season in Philadelphia.